Seven Dials, Brighton

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Seven Dials roundabout from Goldsmid Road, looking towards Chatham Place (left) and Buckingham Place (centre).

Seven Dials is an area surrounding a major road junction of the same name in Brighton, in the city of Brighton and Hove. It is located on high ground just northwest of Brighton railway station, and approximately ¾ mile north of the seafront.

The name derives from the seven roads which radiate outwards from the roundabout-controlled junction. The roundabout itself is notable as an early example of this type of road junction in the UK.^{[citation needed]}

Clockwise from the north, these are:

Prestonville Road
Chatham Place, leading to New England Road and Preston Circus - another major road junction
Buckingham Place, leading to the railway station by way of a sharply curving downhill slope
Dyke Road, one of the city's main roads - leading to the city centre
Vernon Terrace, leading to Montpelier Road and the seafront
Goldsmid Road, leading into Hove
The northward continuation of Dyke Road, leading eventually to the Devil's Dyke beauty spot on the South Downs

[edit] Development

The area began to be developed with a mixture of terraced houses and more substantial Victorian villas shortly after the London and Brighton Railway opened sections of its lines in the area. The route westwards to Shoreham-by-Sea (opened in 1840) ran through the area, while the Brighton Main Line (1841) and the throat of Brighton station lie on the eastern edge.

[edit] Places of interest

The Booth Museum of Natural History on Dyke Road [3] was opened in 1874 by Victorian ornithologist Edward Thomas Booth (1840-1890). It houses a substantial collection of exhibits on all areas of natural history, particularly ornithology, zoology and botany.
Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College (BHASVIC) is a large sixth-form college at the corner of Old Shoreham Road and Dyke Road. ^[1]
Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital on Dyke Road [4] is the region's main children's hospital.
Sculptor and engraver Eric Gill was born in 1882 at 32 Hamilton Road, off Old Shoreham Road; he also lived at 53 Highcroft Villas, further north towards the Preston Village area.

[edit] Gallery

St Luke's Church, at 64 Old Shoreham Road, was built in 1875. The eastern side, on Stanford Road, is shown here.
Stanford Road school, built in 1893. Notice the entrance marked "BOYS". [1]
Hamilton Road runs south-eastwards down the hill, and looks down on the twin-arched roof of Brighton station.
Looking up the hill towards Seven Dials, beyond Brighton station, emphasising the change in gradient. The buildings in the centre background are in Howard Place.
Seven Dials roundabout from Buckingham Place, looking west towards Vernon Terrace (left) and Goldsmid Road (right).
Montpelier Crescent is a crescent of houses opposite Vernon Terrace, just south of the Seven Dials roundabout.
The northern end of Vernon Terrace, looking towards Seven Dials (the tree is close to the junction itself). The start of Montpelier Crescent is on the right.